Gun violence forum tonight in Ballston Spa -- watch it live here

BALLSTON SPA -- Seven panelists -- including professionals speaking on behalf of schools, media organizations, police departments, parents and mental health patients -- have been asked to present a tangible solution to preventing gun violence during a community forum titled "Keeping Our Children Safe from Gun Violence in Schools" at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ballston Spa High School.

The event, organized by the League of Women Voters of Saratoga, Schenectady and Albany counties, was prompted by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

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Patricia Nugent, president of the Saratoga County league, said that even though the league has nationally supported gun control since 1990, it wasn't until the shooting in Newtown, Conn., that it became obvious to members that the issue of keeping children safe in schools needed to be addressed.

"It seemed to be the last straw," Nugent said of the Connecticut shooting in which 20 schoolchildren were killed. "Once again, little children are gunned down in what should be a safe place for them. Parents put their children on the bus in the morning, expecting them to come back at the end of the day, and we fail as a society if that expectation no longer holds up."

Rosemary Armao, a faculty member of the journalism program at the State University of New York at Albany, agrees with Nugent.

"Newtown changed things," Armao said. "Smart people need to sit down and talk about how to fix this."

In addition to teaching and working as a reporter and editor for more than 30 years, Armao trained journalists and worked on media development projects throughout Eastern Europe and Africa. At the moment, she is writing a flurry of articles on violence in the media and its impact on society.

The veteran journalist says she is anxious to hear the thoughts of panelists and audience members and that she has more questions than answers. She would like to see the violence prevalent in movies, video games and television shows be contained, but she is also adamantly opposed to censorship.

Violence in the media cannot be held solely accountable for the rise of gun violence in schools, Armao said, because people all over the world are tuning in to American broadcasts without going on shooting sprees.

"Why are the killings happening here?" she asked during a telephone interview. "The only thing different is the availability of guns. In Bosnia, people are using old hand grenades to commit suicide, yet people aren't walking into school yards and killing kids."

Dr. James Kelleher, chief medical officer at Four Winds Hospital in Saratoga Springs, is in favor of bettering prevention strategies in the mental health field to prevent gun violence. He is concerned about the effect the new, more restrictive gun law will have on people who are hesitant about reaching out for help from mental health professionals, especially those who own weapons or are suicidal.

Kelleher said he is curious to see how new mental health legislation will be interpreted by the courts and lawmakers and if it will conflict with the patient's confidentiality rights.

"I do think there's a risk if it's implemented in a broad way, that it will inhibit some patients from seeking treatment," Kelleher said.

Throughout the course of the school year, kids go through routine practice drills to be prepared in case of an emergency. Besides fires and other natural disasters, kids today also practice lockout and lockdown drills in the event of a shooting. Nugent thinks it's important to discuss ways the community can keep children safe without turning schools into armored camps.

Nugent invites the public to attend the forum and stresses it is relevant to everyone, not just parents and teachers. Following the discussion and questions from audience members, Nugent says an action plan will be devised.

"We cannot be silent," she said, "Children need to know we care and are actively working on keeping them safe."